2023: We didn’t endorse Yahaya Bello, says Northern CAN

The Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) in 19 Northern States and Abuja has described as untrue, reports that it had endorsed Governor Yahaya Bello of Kogi State for the 2023 presidential election.

The organisation said that from history, it had never adopted any individual for any elective position in the history of elections in Nigeria and neither will it do so this time in the 2023 elections.

The Public Relations Officer of CAN (19 Northern States and Abuja), Chaplain Jechonia Gilbert, made the clarification in a communiqué issued after its Extraordinary Meeting held at Excel Hotel in Abuja, after a condolence visit to its chairman, Rev. Yakubu Pam on the death of his mother and obtained by Journalists on Tuesday.

According to CAN, its duty to Nigeria as a religious organization, is to pray for the peace of the nation and encourage its members to participate in every constitutional process towards nation building.

The communiqué reads, “We want to clarify the recent report in some online papers that Northern CAN had adopted Governor Yahaya Bello of Kogi State as its presidential candidate for the 2023 general elections.

“Northern CAN, from history, has never adopted any individual for any elective position in the history of elections in Nigeria and neither will it do so this time. Our duty to the Nigerian nation as a religious body, is to pray for the peace of the nation and encourage our members to participate in every constitutional process towards nation building.

“As an organisation with large followership and its members belonging belonging to different political persuasions, it is unthinkable to assume that we have adopted a particular individual who is not even a flag bearer of any political party as our candidate for the 2023 presidential elections.

“We call on the public to disregard such reportage as it is never the thought or imagination of Northern CAN. There has never been any meeting of the leadership of Northern CAN where such a decision was ever taken.

“Following the release of election timetable by INEC, we are here to make our contributions towards nation building by directing our leaders from the three zones in the North to go back and mobilize their members to come out en masse to register so as to enable them participate in the forthcoming 2023 general elections.

“The strategic meeting is to collate report from the various zones concerning the security situation in various States that make up the zone with the aim of helping the leadership of Northern CAN in making a bold statement to the nation concerning the worrisome security challenges in the North.

“We pray for Nigerians to close ranks for the purpose of defeating the enemies of Nigerians, especially those killing in the name of religion, those kidnapping for ransom and those raping our women across the country. We must unite and stand together to stamp out this evil from our nation.’